Friday, October 5, 2012

Review: Tarot Spreads: Layouts & Techniques to Empower Your Readings

I was absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to review Tarot Spreads: Layouts & Techniques to Empower Your Readings by the amazing Barbara Moore! I have notes scribbled on sheets of paper marking spots all through the book! The description promises to "Bring power, precision and depth to your tarot readings" and it does just that! Only, it does more too! You will feel like you've attended a series of workshops just as described! I think even the most seasoned reader will find this book to be a treasure for all time. If you're new to tarot this will be a wonderful tool that can teach you many things you won't find in any other book.

Here is a list of each chapter:

Chapter 1 Tarot Spread Basics

Chapter 2 Design Principles and Layouts

Chapter 3 A Collection of Spreads

Chapter 4 Techniques to Add to Any Spread

Chapter 5 How to Modify Spreads

Chapter 6 Do It Yourself Spread Design

Chapter 7 How to do a 78 Card Reading

Conclusion

Spread Cross References

Annotated Reading List

Appendix A Curious Old Spreads

Appendix B Elemental Dignities

Appendix C Significators

In Beliefs, Style, and Technique (Chapter 1) these sentences jumped off the page at me: "Know what you think. Know what you live by. Know what guides you, and let everything you do with your cards be directed by that." You could say I was hooked right there…I wanted to know more! There are many great tips in this book covering everything from how to keep your spreads organized - to variations of spreads. What I like most about this book is the degree of detail Barbara gives to each position in each spread. I have a book of spreads that I don’t really connect with because there’s not enough information about positions so; I was pleasantly surprised that Barbara did such a fantastic job of explaining things in her book. The chapter on “How to Modify a Spread” is very helpful. The “Spread Cross Reference” is especially handy for looking up the type of spread you need. There are over seventy spreads to try out! The writing style is extremely easy to follow and even the newest tarot reader will benefit from owning this book. Barbara Moore makes the subject of tarot spreads fun and exciting! I've come away from reading this book feeling like I've had lessons from a very special teacher and a whole new respect for using tarot spreads.